Worth Your Salt
by ImmortalRedshirt
Summary: After a Tardis malfunction, Doctor and Clara become trapped on Salinious V, also known as "The Dead Planet"– a planet too salty to support any form of life. Or so they thought. (Whouffaldi. Whump!fic. Canon-concentric through the middle of Season 9. Rated T for violence and emergency medical procedures. Prompt commissioned by @whouffaldi-that-is-all. Commissioned art by @luluxa)
1. Chapter 1: The Dead Planet

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters. This story takes place somewhere in the middle of Season 9. Rated T for angst and medical whump. This is a commissioned prompt by whouffaldi-that-is-all. Art by luluxa. All other elements of the story are my own.

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 **Chapter 1: The Dead Planet**

It was a petty argument and he knew it.

Far in the distance stood Clara Oswald, basking in the warmth of an alien sun, breathing in the salt of an alien sea- looking defiant as ever.

The Doctor huffed. She was becoming too much of a daredevil lately and he would be lying to himself if he said it did not worry him. They had only landed here on this random planet because the Tardis was having herself a little hissy fit for whatever reason. Probably because he had tried to heat a bagel in the Time Winds. Nah. Probably not.

He shoved his hands into the well-worn pockets of his favorite plaid trousers- which definitely were not pajama pants- and trudged ahead across the smooth expanse of salt flats before him.

This entire planet was dead, too salty to sustain any form of life. Nothing here but the salt, the sun, and the sea. Pretty boring really, but of course Clara Oswald saw the opportunity for exploration and did not think twice about doing just that.

It was quite a beautiful view with the salt flats proving to be such a perfect reflective surface that it was like walking on a giant mirror. Deep red sunbeams bounced off the surface and scattered multicolored rays of light in every direction. "It's like a disco planet," Clara had quipped, smiling uncontrollably- obviously itching to get a closer view.

And usually he would not refuse her, especially on a completely harmless and desolate planet like this one. But something came over him. A bad feeling. A Premonition. He did not like premonitions. It was like remembering backwards, and he did not know how or why, but the idea of "danger" asserted itself in his mind like a great big neon sign.

She fussed. Of course she did. He tried to explain that he had a duty of care and he could never live with himself if something were to happen to her, but she would not have it. She asked him for a reason and suddenly he found that he could not produce one. With that, she turned on her heel and made her way to the cerulean shores, and the Doctor was powerless to stop her.

And that was the last he had seen of Clara for the past thirty minutes. He kept a sharp ear out for any sounds of distress, regrettably unable to steer the rest of his concentration away from the panel of wires sparking angrily at him. The salt in the air was corroding the wires and it was only a matter of time before they became damaged beyond repair. One mismatched connection could fry the whole circuit and then they would never leave this salty wasteland.

He touched something he apparently should not have and a small arc of electricity leapt from his sonic to his fingers. He howled in pain, sucking on his knuckles. The Tardis warbled in a definite tone of irritation for his efforts.

"You'd better hope that wasn't deliberate," he threatened.

The Tardis produced a noise as similar to a huff as she could and shut up. Good. Now he could really focus.

There was also this splashing. It was different from the constant metronome of the waves against the shore. What was that? It was really beginning to shake his concentration.

The splashing continued and he somehow could not force himself to tune it out. The colorful wires before him all blurred together in his mind and soon he found that he couldn't work on them at all without causing an often painful mishap.

"Oh my god, Clara! Are you _trying_ to throw my concentration!?" he threw his hands up in frustration, rising from the reflective ground with creaky knees. "It's as if you want us to stay stuck here forever!"

He fiddled with the sonic with an indiscernible grumble and pivoted on his heel to the beach where he had last seen his feisty companion.

"Clara?" he called, confusion lacing his voice.

The tiny human was nowhere to be seen. The entire landscape was completely flat. One could see over a hundred miles into the distance unhindered by geographical landmarks. He should be able to see her. _Unless..._

And there was that damned splashing again. And there was a figure.

It was Clara, alright. And she was definitely not alone.

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	2. Chapter 2: Drowned

**Chapter 2: Drowned**

The sonic fell from his hands, forgotten, fracturing the surface below. Every single other thought in his overactive brain vanished, leaving only one thing, one person, left standing in its wake. _Save the one you love. Save Clara Oswald._

"Clara!" he cried.

The serenity of the ocean was broken like a mirror by the thrashing of a very desperate human.

"Clara! My Clara!"

The Doctor took off on a mad sprint to the shore. Deep cracks formed in the clear salt flats beneath the hard pounding of his feet. His hearts beat into a whirlwind, pounding blood through his ears so loud he thought it would drown out all else.

Suddenly, countless painted beings burst from the water, dancing through the waves in beautiful choreography. They were humanoid in shape but in nothing else, sporting rows of gills cut deep between their ribs and fins in the place of hands and feet. They leapt from the water effortlessly, spinning in the air multiple times in a great display of bioluminescence and color before gliding back beneath the mirrored surface once again. And in the middle of their throng was Clara.

He did not even stop to think about the impossibility of their existence. None of that mattered right now. "Get away from her!" he shouted in as threatening a voice as he could manage.

The creatures let out a rattling hiss through their gills and dove beneath the surface, taking Clara with them.

"Oh no you don't!" he growled.

He reached the water's edge and did not waste a second before diving beneath the waves. The hypersalinity of the water ate at his skin and burned at his eyes. The pristine clarity of the water lent forth a spectacle the Doctor would be in awe of in different circumstances.

The creatures swirled and danced around Clara's body in perfect synchrony. Their pale skin caught the different spectrums of light of the alien sun and spat it back out in great bursts of color. It was almost as if they were worshipping Clara. They zipped up and down effortlessly through the water surrounding her, creating so powerful a water current that she could not fight her way back up to the surface, barely ten feet above her. The scene was as gorgeous as it was horrifying.

He hated it. Nothing which threatened the life of his Clara could be beautiful in his eyes. They were killing her. Red filled his vision in pure fury. He hoped for their sakes that they did not know what they were doing. He was grateful for his respiratory bypass system allowing him to stay beneath the surface for much longer than normal.

Suddenly he caught Clara's gaze. Her eyes were reddened with the sting of the sea and with exhaustion. She had obviously been fighting to tread water for the past several minutes and now her energy to fight against the currents pulling her under in a whirlwind of light had run out.

Those once- expressive chocolate- brown eyes now gazed blankly into his soul. Dim, save for a single spark of hope that flickered at the sight of him. Her body surrendered to the currents, bubbles escaping from her lips like a whisper, her eyelids fluttering for a brief second before finally slipping shut.

 _'Clara!'_ Panicked adrenaline pulsed through his veins. He swam as hard as he could, his sodden clothes and heavy boots weighing him down.

The creatures began to dart around him curiously, flashing their lights almost as if expecting him to flash back. He ignored them, powering his way through the currents in their wake.

They obviously took this as a hostile gesture and swarmed him in an angry swirling dance. The Doctor was not usually a man of violence, but right now he could not care less. He lashed out at one of them, catching it square in the jaw with a well-placed punch.

It flickered the row of lights on its sides angrily and suddenly every single one of the creatures surrounded him. They weaved around him menacingly, blaring out their lights in a wide variety of color and frequency, trying to daze him into drowning.

He growled angrily, red hot rage flooding his system. He punched and kicked wildly in every direction with deadly accuracy, moves he must have learned in a previous incarnation. The creatures only grew angrier and whirled faster and faster, taking him deeper and deeper beneath the waves.

And the he saw Clara again. In a break in the spinning wall of bodies, lay the view of her limp body floating back up to the surface due to the salinity of the water. She was facing down.

He screamed. Suddenly and fiercely, something primal tore from what little air he had left stored in his lungs. The creatures, used to a world filled with nothing but pure silence, started with fear and shot away into the depths.

He kicked his feet as hard as he could, his muscles and lungs screaming at him in protest. None of that mattered. Her body floated up slowly through the waves- motionless. No. No! He would not lose her again! Not today!

He grabbed ahold of her prone body with all his worth and hauled her to the surface. They exploded up harshly through the water with the force. The Doctor gasped for air, choking out streams of the extremely salty water.

"Clara!" he gasped, regaining his breath, "Clara, are you alright?" he begged, praying to every deity he knew that she would stay alive. At least just for a moment longer until he could find some help.

It was then that he realized she was not breathing. His already pounding heart shot into his throat. He scrabbled his burning hands at her throat for her carotid artery, searching desperately for a pulse he feared would no longer be there.

But there it was. A weak, thready pulse. She was still alive. She was fighting for him and he'd be damned if he let her down now.

"Hold on, Clara. Stay with me!" he pleaded, clutching her to his chest and holding her head above water.

He dragged them both ashore, the natural mirrors below reflecting the scene above. He laid her down quickly but carefully against the surface of the beach and became very grateful that Clara had forced him to enroll in a basic CPR class at Coal Hill last month.

He clasped his hands together as he had been taught and began to compress her chest desperately. One, two, one, two, to the rate of 100 compressions a minute, to the beat of _"Stayin' Alive."_ He hated the irony.

Water shot from her lungs with every forceful compression. His brain ran into overdrive, trying to remember the details of the session he had then scoffed at. Thirty. Thirty beats and then... And then two breaths. Mouth to mouth.

He counted the beats out quickly and felt a sinking pit of dread grip his system once again.

"Sorry, Clara." he panted, apologizing more to himself than to her for what he had to do next.

He lifted her chin with two fingers and pinched her nose shut. He steeled himself, feeling guilty for being nervous. This was to save her life, dammit! This wasn't a kiss, for godsakes!

He drew in a deep breath and sealed his lips over hers. He forced the air from his lungs into hers, watching her chest rise against her soaked blouse. He did it again before positioning himself beside her chest once again and resuming compressions.

Again. Thirty beats to two breaths. Again and again. No response. Water continued to spurt from her lungs which still refused to breathe. He took a moment to feel her pulse once again.

It was barely there.

 _"No!"_ More dread pooled in his stomach and for the first time today it finally registered in his brain that he was going to lose her. She had been too long without oxygen. Her brain was possibly damaged beyond repair. And now she was slipping away.

"No! Come on, Clara! Use that stubborn pudding brain will of yours and fight!" He pounded his fists into her chest. Over and over again, her shirt cold against his skin. The salt coating the fabric burning welts into his palms.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven..." he trailed off, counting mentally as a matter of life and death. He reached thirty and sealed his mouth over hers again for what had to have been the seventh time and breathed air into her lungs.

Suddenly, an entire stream of water burst forth from her lips. He gave her space and she arched her back, struggling for air. His eyes widened, a spark of hope igniting tentatively in his chest. He scooped his arms beneath hers and hauled her to her feet, bracing her back against his chest and positioning his fists just beneath her ribcage. What was this called again? The Ham Lick maneuver? Whatever. All that mattered is that he remembered how to do it.

He squeezed her against his body powerfully, forcing her diaphragm to expel more fluid from her lungs. He relaxed his grip before tightening it again sharply.

"Come on, come on, Clara! You're doing so well, don't give up on me now!"

With one last final heave, the last of the corrosive water shot out of her mouth. A second went by. And then another second.

And then she coughed. And it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

She coughed and coughed, her lungs screaming for air. She gasped frantically, gulping in the air hungrily.

"Clara!"

She slumped weakly against his frame, unable to support her weight. Her chest rose and fell quickly as her body fought desperately to restore oxygen to her starved cells. The Doctor gripped his arms beneath hers and hugged her tightly to his body, gently lowering them both to the ground.

He cradled her upper body against his chest. He felt her pulse. It was still weaker than he would like but a vast improvement from before. Hope and joy bubbled up through his hearts. The Impossible Girl had done the impossible once again. She had beaten death itself.

"Clara! Clara, you're doing fantastic. Just breathe." he brushed a lock of wet hair from her pale face. "Just breathe."

And suddenly there were tears. It was as if the floodgates had broken and now a steady flow of tears streamed down his craggy face. He could not remember the last time he had cried. They flowed unashamed down his craggy face. He had nearly lost her. Again.

 _But he didn't._

"Oh, my Clara," he sobbed. He had come so close. "My Clara."

Her eyelids fluttered. His heart shot into his throat once more and slowly he was met with the gaze of those beautiful chocolate eyes. They were no longer blank, but sharp instead with a mixture of pain and confusion.

He laughed. A sound of pure joy burst from his lips and he hugged her to himself tighter, intending never to let her go again. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment.

"Doctor?" she rasped, her respiratory system no doubt damaged by the submersion of the corrosive liquid. She probably had a long road of recovery before her, but her brain, her brain had survived without even the slightest apparent defect. Against all odds. He would never call the human brain "pudding" ever again.

"Clara?" he breathed. "I'm here. It's me. The Doctor. Your Doctor. You're safe."

She seemed contented with this answer and allowed her eyelids to slip shut once again in exhaustion.

"C'mon," he kissed her forehead softly and gingerly scooped her tiny body into his arms. He rose to his feet, gazing at the shadow of the Tardis beyond. "Let's get you home."

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	3. Chapter 3: Home Again

**Chapter 3: Home Again**

She awoke nearly a week later to the gentle hum of the Tardis and the warm feeling of another hand in her own.

The Tardis had been fixed and now they were cruising quietly in the safety of the Time Vortex. Clara peeked her eyes open against the soft light of the medbay and was greeted by the smiling face of the man she loved most in the universe.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," he chuckled warmly, squeezing her hand in his proudly.

She smiled back, but then furrowed her eyebrows, confused. Why was she in the medbay, and what was this faint burning sensation in her lungs?

"What happened?" she asked simply. His expression darkened.

"There was an accident," he explained, obviously uncomfortable with having to relive the memories of that fateful day. "The Tardis had a malfunction and we got stranded on a planet with nothing but salt, water, and an atmosphere."

"Salinious V, also known as _'The Dead Planet,'_ or it was anyway. It had always been said that the planet was too salty to sustain any form of life, but obviously that was wrong. There were creatures, living in the sea. Beautiful creatures," he trailed off, staring blankly at all the various tubes and IV lines hooked up to her body.

He took in a deep breath, meeting her gaze again with a serious look. "I let you wander off, which is my fault. I should have protected you. I have a duty of care, after all."

She smiled at that, but did not make a retort. He watched for her reaction for a moment and then continued after a sigh. "The creatures must have grabbed you while I wasn't paying attention and pulled you under. The salinity of the water should have kept you buoyant, but these creatures were adapted to creating these specific underwater currents to force you under."

He passed a hand down his face and then scratched at his scalp, fidgeting. "Now, I don't know if they thought you were one of their own- they were humanoid, after all- or if they were just trying to drown you for food, but they very nearly killed you."

He swallowed thickly, guilt gripping his hearts like a vice. "I had my back turned. I was working on the Tardis. The salt in the air was corroding the wires of the dematerialization circuit, and I just thought that I'd be able to hear it if you got into any trouble. I was wrong. You kept making this splashing noise, but apparently the creatures kept your head mostly underwater so you couldn't call for help. I almost noticed the sound too late."

"When I realized what was going on, I ran to the shore and dove in after you. The creatures attacked me, and I fought them off as best I could until...until..." he trailed off, his voice choking up.

"Until...what?" she asked gently.

"Until I saw you lying there. Floating up to the surface. Facedown. Motionless." He fought back tears. "I screamed and the creatures scattered away. Apparently in an underwater world with no other living things, there isn't much in the way of sound. They communicated by light, see. They had these bioluminescent stripes across their bodies that they flashed at each other. Used to a world of almost complete silence, I must have scared them off with that shout."

"Then I caught you and dragged you to shore where I performed CPR on you and the Ham Lick maneuver."

Her eyes glittered in an obvious _'I told you so'_ manner. "It's not 'Ham Lick' maneuver, you daft old man," she giggled. "It's _Heimlich_ maneuver. Told you those classes were useful." she smirked, satisfied with herself.

He puffed himself up in indignation at his now ruffled ego and the human responsible. "Whatever."

"Continue," she chuckled, gesturing with her hands.

"Well, anyway, I somehow got you breathing again." He paused a moment and furrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought. "You are one tough little pudding brain, you know that?" he gestured at her vaguely. "You never lost your pulse or let it go into an arrhythmia. If you had, I wouldn't have had anything to work with to shock you back into life. You would have been a goner no matter how much CPR I did. And somehow, somehow, your brain doesn't appear to have lost any function at all whatsoever despite being deprived of oxygen for several minutes."

"Is that why my lungs are burning? It's kind of faint, but I can still feel it." she pointed to her chest.

"Yeah, the high salt content was somewhat corrosive, so I'm afraid that your lungs might be left with some scarring. I've given you a lot of painkillers and some magic Timelord medicine for it, though. The scarring should be minimal and hopefully you'll be right as rain in a few days."

"Takes more than some stupid salty water and glowing fish people to kill the Impossible Girl, I guess," she grinned.

"Impossible Girl indeed." he nodded, still in awe.

He sighed, leaning back against the chair he had pulled up beside her bed and steepling his fingers. "Well, I'd thought I'd lost you there for a minute," he admitted. "But then you proved to be worth your salt."

They stared at each other for a moment with bated breath and wide eyes before suddenly exploding into great peals of laughter. The sound reverberated down the halls of the medbay and drowned out the sounds of the monitors and the Tardis herself.

"That!" Clara gasped out between bursts of laughter, "That is your _worst_ pun yet!"

His laughter died down. "Too soon?"

She giggled and shook her head at him in disbelief. "Oh, I'll just have to kill you for that one."

"Oohhh." he drawled, waggling an eyebrow at her in mischief, "Yes, but then you'll just have to save me."

"Mm-hmm" she hummed cheekily, "and how do you do that again?"

He rose from his seat beside her bed and bent over her body. "Well first," he placed his hands over her heart, feeling its pace quicken under his touch, "you place your hands here and press…" he gazed deeply into her eyes, a spark of playful mischief passing between them. "And then," he kept one hand over her heart and moved the other to cup her face and lift her chin slightly, "you do this."

His lips met hers softly, tentatively, playfully. She closed her eyes and snatched at his lapels, deepening the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers and was unable to suppress the tiniest of moans. Clara's hands moved to grasp hard against his unruly curls, enjoying their softness and enjoying even more the sheer gripability of them.

The world fell away as they became lost in each other. The Tardis carried them away through the Time Vortex. Towards safety, fun, and more adventures to come.

The End.

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